Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) rose 24.3% in July from a year earlier, according to the latest report from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).
The overall average selling price for properties in the GTA was up 3.2% year-over-year to $806,755, TREB said in its monthly report. The number of properties sold increased to 8,595 from 6,916, with sales of all four categories of housing up by double digits.
In the City of Toronto itself, the average price for fully detached homes fell 9.1% to $1.23 million, offsetting a 2.5% increase in the surrounding 905 area to an average of $929,633. TREB said that the supply of properties for sale in the GTA was also tighter than it was last year.
There were 14,393 new listings in the GTA during the month, up from 13,873 in July 2018, but the total number of active listings at the end of July was down 9.1% from a year ago. In a news release, the board said it welcomes a move by Toronto Mayor John Tory and the city council, which instructed staff to report on ways to increase housing options in neighbourhoods that traditionally have had single-family dwellings.
TREB also said it supports provincial government consultations to "spur on and speed up" the development of different forms of housing.
